In Sync
by RedDestiny123
Summary: Casey and Derek find out about Nora's plan to keep them apart. ONE-SHOT


**AN: Here's a Dasey fanfic. I figured a little fluff would make up for the angst I wrote last time. And it's family friendly. No bad language. ;) So… enjoy! **

"So Derek wasn't avoiding me?" Casey couldn't process the information. The whole time she'd thought that her annoying step-brother had purposely been trying to get out of meeting her, she was informed by none other than _Lizzie_ that it was her _mother's_ idea. "I can't believe you did that!" Even Derek had a look of shock on his face.

Instead of waiting for the surprise that the smorgasbord-iesta was all a joke, the brunette stormed up to her room, slamming the door. All these years and her perspective on Derek had already been biased from the start. Maybe if Nora hadn't done that, things could've been different.

"I should go apologize…" Nora murmured as she began to stand up before Derek stopped her with a shake of his head.

"No. I'll go. Dad's made it apparent that this is your day and since he loves ya so much, I'll let him take it away," he told her as he stood up and made his way up the stairs. When he was face-to-face with Casey's door, he actually decided to pluck up some of the manners he hid away so very well and knocked.

"Mom, go away!" Casey screeched, making Derek cover his ears dramatically as he walked inside her room without any further politeness.

"I know. I'm probably worse than Nora," Derek reasoned, shutting the door behind him. Casey's eyes were a bright red and puffy. It was more than apparent that she'd been crying. Sobbing, if you will. He took a deep breath before making himself comfortable in her computer chair.

"You. What do you want?"

"Hey, I'm not the enemy here, remember?" he reminded with a sigh as he leaned an elbow on her desk, propping himself up. "Why does it matter so much to you? So your mom told a little white lie."

"It's not a little white lie, Derek!" Casey exclaimed in obvious dissatisfaction with how lightly Derek was taking this. The whole time they'd known each other and the two of them were lied to.

"Okay. So it was more than that. I'll give you that one. But you can't kill her for that. Liz was right, you know."

Casey's eyes shot to Derek when he said that. "What do you mean?"

"There was no way we were gonna get along, anyway," he explained, sitting up straight. "I mean, let's face it. You're the jester and I'm the king."

She took a deep breath, trying to keep herself from throwing something at him, though she couldn't control herself. She grabbed the first thing she could reach, which happened to be her cell phone, and chucked it at him. It hit him right on his temple before he could make any effort to block it, for the action was so out of character for Casey.

With that, Derek shot up from the chair and ran over to pin Casey down on the bed. "See? Right there. That's what I'm talking about."

"Der-ek! You deserved that for being such a jerk!"

The brunet sighed and shrugged his shoulders, letting her free from his grasp. "All right. So maybe I did. But, jeez, when did you develop such a throwing arm? Where's the girl who threw meatloaf like a girl?" he asked, almost as if in awe.

"Just go away. I don't need this."

"Space-Case, you know I can't leave you like this." But tears began to spring into her bright blue eyes, making them shine brighter than he'd ever seen. With this being the case, he immediately stood up from the bed. "No! No, no, no, no, no. No crying," he objected with a shake of his head.

"Please. Leave me to actually caring about you, okay?"

Those words caught Derek's attention, his ears perking up like a dog's. He should've figured it out when she was crying over him not avoiding her. That she cared. It was obvious that there were feelings, but he just didn't expect her to admit it. "A McDonald cares about a Venturi and it's not dad and Nora?" He was trying to keep himself from letting it slip that he cared, too. He'd rather stay sarcastic

"Yes. Yes, a certain Casey McDonald actually cares about a certain Derek Venturi. I'm not kidding, Derek. Leave."

His mouth opened, about to say something, but nothing came out. Well, there were five words that left his mouth. "I care about you, too," he whispered before heading towards the door.

Casey's head popped up when she heard him respond in such a way. She swallowed, though couldn't find it in herself to get up after him. She was the one that had told him to leave, after all. "I also love you, though," she muttered under her breath after him.

Derek stopped walking, paused as if he were operated by a TV remote, before turning on his heel to face her. "Really?"

"You know I don't take those words lightly, Derek. I don't say them meaninglessly."

She was right, there. Derek knew that she was far from lying to get her way. Maybe she'd find loopholes or something, but outright lying was something she couldn't bring herself to do. Not well, anyway. "I guess I… sorta love you, too…"

"You can't guess these things, Derek. It's a yes or no."

"Yes! Okay?! I love you! I love my keener step-sister! I love my Klutzilla! I love my Space-Case! I love… Dang it! I love every nickname I've given you! I love _my_ Casey McDonald! I love you and I don't care who knows anymore!"

Casey's eyes widened at his sudden outburst, swallowing – once again – down the swollen lump in her throat that had formed. "Kiss me, Derek."

Derek didn't miss a beat and did just as she requested. He ran over and pressed his lips hungrily to hers. It was something he'd been wanting to do ever since he'd met her. Ever since Operation Disengagement. He annoyed her to get a rise out of her; because the way she looked when she was angry… or trying real hard to think of a clever comeback, that was when she looked the most beautiful.

Casey's hands went to form fists as she clutched onto her step-brother's brown locks as if her life depended on it, his fingers gripping her waist in return. She knew that this probably wasn't the most comfortable position for him. He was bending over while she was laying down on her bed. But she wasn't quite ready to invite a guy, even one she loved, into her bed with her just yet, so she stood up.

The two pulled away simultaneously, both their lips swollen from the kiss and the passion it held. Trying to catch their breath, they both wore the same smile before they said, 'I love you,' at the same time. Everything they did was in sync.

It always had been.


End file.
